The present invention concerns continuous-operation cargo-transfer equipment. The equipment comprises bulk-cargo uptake mechanisms that operate inside the hold, an upright conveyor-constituted shaft, a boom that seesaws up and down on a turntable, a gantry that travels back and forth on a pontoon, intermediate belts, and a conveyor belt that operates in conjunction with a bulk-goods expulsion spout on a pivoting and displacing beam. Such equipment is employed outside ports for transferring bulk cargo from deep-draft ocean-going vessels to shallow-draft tenders in the form of lighters or barges or to ship-to-shore conveyors for example.
Existing equipment of this type employs clamshell cranes. They operate discontinuously and toss the cargo they unload into a hopper that operates as a temporary bunker on the equipment. The dry particles emit a lot of dust as they drop into the bunker from the open clamshell.
Clamshell cranes are less efficient weight for weight and in terms of steel consumption and mechanical and electric components than continuous-operation equipment, and require a lot of wiring.